(Well Looky Looky, looks like Martha Coakley did the exact same thing. This is much ado about nothing ALL CAMPAIGNS do this. Its politics 101 doesn't even rise to the level of a sophomore course.
 - promoted by EaBo Clipper)
The folks at BMG are claiming that Scott Brown's campaign is playing fast and loose with the absentee voting law.
Republican Scott Brown's campaign for U.S. Senate has hit upon a new strategy: lock voters in by getting as many of them as possible to vote absentee -- and by encouraging them to get their friends to do the same. This is a screenshot from his website (click for larger image):
Emails sent out by the campaign urge the same course of action. They include the following graphic, which if clicked directs you to the page linked above:
Looks like a clever strategy. You get people locked in before they change their mind, or forget to show up on election day. But you'd never know from Brown's website or emails that, actually, you can't vote absentee in Massachusetts unless you are unable to vote in person on election day.
And that's the problem with Brown's strategy: it's illegal.
Like many people here, I received an email from the Brown campaign urging me to get an absentee ballot so that I could vote right now. While I dislike the frivolous way everyone is urged to get an absentee ballot, the Brown campaign has done nothing wrong. The requirements for requesting an absentee ballot are clearly listed on the form. It is the sole responsibility of the person submitting that form to ensure that the information is accurate. This places it in much the same case as the signature sheets that candidates must submit to get a spot on the ballot. It isn't the candidate's responsibility to ensure that people signing those signature sheets are registered voters meeting all criteria. The criteria is listed on the sheet. And if a person does sign without meeting such criteria, it falls to the town/city clerk to discount such a signature as being invalid. Likewise, if there is abuse of the absentee voting process it falls to the Secretary of State or perhaps the town/city clerks to root it out.
What steps are taken to ensure absentee ballots are not abused? I'm not sure, but it is an interesting question. It is an answer that the people at BMG don't seem to care much about. The general consensus after reading the comments over there is that the absentee voting process should be changed to allow anyone for any reason at all to mail it in. So, take any outrage with a grain of salt.
I do wonder what the response would be if the situation were different. If ACORN were urging the use of absentee ballots for Coakley without making it clear up front that absentee ballots are only to be used in a limited set of circumstances, it would probably be RMG breaking such a story with BMG claiming it was no big deal.
Update: The Brown campaign has changed the website to make the proper use of absentee ballots clear.
http://versionista.com/pub/190... |
